Low-pressure cooking method and cookware vessel adapted for the same

A cooking assembly comprising:

• a. a cookware vessel having a bottom, substantially upright sidewalls extending upward there from to terminate at a rim, the sidewall encircling said bottom portion to form an interior portion capable of retaining a fluid,
• b. a sealing means to form a vacuum within the vessel,
• c. a heating means for providing thermal communication with said cookware vessel,
• d. a controller to modulate the output of the heating means,
• e. a thermal probe adapted to measure a temperature of at least a portion of the vessel or the environment thereof,
• f. a transmitter device adapted to receive the output of the thermal probe and transmits values thereof to the controller
• g. wherein the programmable controller is operative to energize and de-energize the one or more induction coils to maintain a pre-determined temperature entered into the controller in response to the temperature measured by the transmitter device,
• h. wherein the cooking assembly includes a means to reduce the partial pressure of air in the vacuum sealed vessel to 0.3 Bar and less.

A process for cooking, the process comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a vessel capable of retaining fluid therein having a lid that is in sealable engagement with the rim thereof,
• b) introducing at least one of water and an aqueous fluid in the vessel,
• c) placing a foodstuff in the vessel,
• d) placing the lid on the vessel,
• e) heating the vessel to a first temperature at least until the water is converted to a sufficient quantity of water vapor to replace the atmospheric content of the vessel,
• f) reducing the heating power to the vessel to bring the vessel to a 2nd temperature lower than the first temperature, wherein the condensation of the water vapor within the vessel causes an internal reduction pressure sufficient to engage the lid to seal with the rim of the vessel.
• g) maintaining the vessel at the 2nd temperature for a predetermined amount of time.